Tooth-brush.



E. 0. ,GRUEHL.

TOOTH BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED MINES, 1913,.

1,077,909, v Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

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EDWARD G. GRUEHL, 0F PASSAIG, NEW JERSEY.

TOOTH-BRUSH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

Application filed June 5, 1913. Serial No. 771,782.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD C. GRUEHL, acitizen of the United States, residing at Passaic, county of Passaic,and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Tooth-Brushes, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact disclosure.

My invention relates to brushes and particularly to that class ofbrushes which have a handle extending from one end thereof, such astooth brushes.

The object of my invention is to provide such construction that thebrush may be so divided when not in use that it will occupy a smallspace and be convenient to carry in the pocket in a suitable receptaclein a mann erdsimilar to that in which combs are carrie A furtherobjectof my invention is to embody with each construction securingdevices which will firmly hold the parts of the brush together when inuse without detracting from the appearance or convenience of the same.

For a detailed description of one form of my invention reference may behad to the following specification and to the accompanying drawing whichis a part thereof, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view showing the back ofmy improved tooth brush, Fig. 2 is an end View thereof, somewhatenlarged, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the toot-h brush showingthe manner in which it is placed in the shallow receptacle forconvenience in carrying.

Referring to the drawings, number 1 indicates the bristle portion of thebrush and numeral 2 the handle portion. These portions are splitlongitudinally into two parts as indicated by the numerals 3, 4, 5 and6. Ihe dividing line between the two parts of the brush preferablypasses between the two central rows of bristles 7 as indicated in Fig.2. As means for attaching the two parts of the brush together when inuse, I provide at one end a small dove-tailed rib 11 which fits into asimilar dove-tailed groove in the part 6. At the opposite end of thebrush I provide a. wire loop- 9 which passes through a hole 10 in thehandle portion 3 and which is adapted to engage the opposite handleportion 4 with a more or less wedging action. When the parts aredisengaged this loop is moved around the end of the handle so that thehandle portion 4 is readily separated from the portion 3. I also providea small transverse ridge 8 in the handle portion 3 which engages asimilar shaped groove in the handle portion 4 and this is for thepurpose of preventing the parts of the brush from sliding longitudinallyon each other when in use. In Fig. 3 I have shown the manner of placingthe brush in the receptacle 12. This receptacle may be of any suitablematerial such as celluloid, metal or pasteboard and is just deep enoughto receive one-half the brush. When the brush is placed in thereceptacle one part is reversed in relation to the other so that thebristles come adjacent the handle portion of the opposite part of thebrush. The receptacle 12 may be provided with any suitable cover such asthe telescoping cover 13.

I am aware that heretofore brushes of different kinds have been split ordivided for the purpose of making them occupy less space, the partsbeing usually hin ed together and not independent, but so ar as I aminformed I am the first to produce a tooth brush which is splitlongitudinally and so arranged that the parts may be compactly placed ina box with the bristles protected by the opposite handle portion of thebrush.

Having thus described this form of my invention, what I claim and desireto protectby Letters Patent is:

1. A brush comprising a brush portion and a projecting handle portion,said portions being divided longitudinally into independent partscapable of relative end to end reversal when not in use, and clampingdevices for securing the same together in operative position.

2. A brush comprising a brush portion and a projecting handle portion,said portions being divided longitudinally into independent part-scapable of relative end to end reversal when not in use, and clampingdevices carried by said parts for securing the same together inoperative position.

Signed at- New York, N. Y. June 4, 1913.

EDW'ARDO. GRUEHL.

Witnesses:

EDW. W. VAIEL, KENNEDY M. THOMPSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

